INTRO.- One thing we all know is that life is not easy. There are hills and valleys. There are good days and bad. There are positives and negatives. There are ding bats and ding dongs who get in our way in life. There are saints and ain’ts who enter our lives for good or evil. There are good influences and bad influences. There are abundant times and there are lean times. And it’s the lean times that make you appreciate the abundant times. LIFE IS NOT AN EASY COURSE!
ILL.- Famed economist Stuart Chase once sat down to figure how many hours in the week had he truly and intensively lived? In how many had he just existed? Out of the 168 hours of the week, he found that he had been “alive” only 40, or about 25 percent of the time.
Is this true for us? I suspect there are indeed a great many people in our world who don’t get as much out of life as they should. And I think it is because they don’t know the Lord!
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The thief who is the devil wants to take life from us but Jesus wants to give us the full life or the abundant life.
John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Jesus is saying, “If you drink of me you’ll never thirst again!”
John 6:33 “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Jesus is the bread of God who gives us life.
1 Timothy 6:18-19 “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
We all need to take hold of the life that is truly life and it’s found in Jesus and a daily relationship to Him.
PROP.- In this message let’s compare life to certain things.
1- LIFE IS LIKE A CLASSROOM
II Tim. 2:2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Life is like a classroom because it’s an every day learning process. Even when we’re not in a classroom we’re still learning, are we not?
ILL.- Henry Ford is quoted as saying: Anyone who stops learning is old, whether this happens at twenty or at eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young but becomes constantly more valuable, regardless of physical capacity.
Learning is good for us, especially, if it’s good stuff.
ILL.- Thomas A. Edison, the great inventor, was talking one day with the governor of North Carolina, and the governor complimented him on his inventive genius.
“I am not a great inventor,” said Edison.
“But you have over a thousand patents to your credit, haven’t you?” asked the governor.
“Yes, but about the only invention I can really claim as absolutely original is the phonograph,” was the reply.
“Why, I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean,” said the governor.
“Well,” explained Edison, “I guess I’m an awfully good sponge. I absorb ideas from every source I can, and put them to practical use. Then I improve them until they become of some
value.
“The ideas which I use are mostly the ideas of other people who don’t develop them themselves.”
We’re all learning from others. Few of us have original ideas and because we’re learning from others, we need to learn the best and cull the rest.
If it’s something good, keep it in your heart and mind. If it’s something bad that someone has tried to pass on to you, let it pass by you. Shed it like water off a duck’s back.
II Tim. 2:2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. If you’ve learned something good in life you must pass it on to others. We all pass on stuff in life, but let’s make it good stuff! Life gospel stuff. Like scripture. Do you pass it on? Quote it as in, “Well, the Bible says...”
2. LIFE IS LIKE AN ARMY
II Tim. 2:3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.
I don’t know much about the army but here is something I read recently about those Navy Seals who shot Osama Bin Laden. It’s good to be a Navy SEAL right now. The elite sailors are being showered with praise for their successful operation in Pakistan that resulted in the killing of Osama bin Laden this week.
About 25 to 35 percent of those who enter SEAL training crash and burn during the Basic Underwater Demolition training, known as BUD/S, and never make it to become full members of the force and get their Trident pin, military sources said. It’s not just the physical demands of SEAL training that breaks sailors. “Traditionally what has broken candidates is they can’t handle it mentally,” said Ward Carroll, editor of Military.com.
To qualify, sailors have to pass physical, mental and intelligence screening before they can even start training. Only men ages 17-28 with good eyesight and no felony record are admitted.
After six months of initial training candidates need to be able to swim 1000 meters (.6 of a mile) in 20 minutes, do at least 70 pushups in two minutes and run four miles in under 31 minutes wearing long pants.
Then comes Hell Week: five and a half days in which candidates train for 20 hours a day, run more than 200 miles and sleep a total of just four hours.
Oh Wow! It sounds to me like those guys have to endure a great deal of hardship just to become a Navy Seal. Aren’t you glad that life isn’t that hard? And the Christian life? However, no matter who you are and no matter how good of a Christian you are, you will have to endure some hardship in this life!
This is why we look up. We need the Lord every day as our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble! (Ps. 46:1)
Also, as soldiers in the Lord’s army, we must please our commander-in-chief and we know who He is! More than any, we must seek to please the Lord in life and if we make this our goal we won’t go wrong in life!
Don’t get involved in civilian affairs. Live for Christ no matter what vocation or vacation you choose! Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things will be added to you. That is, when you seek Him first and seek to please Him first in life, HE’LL TAKE CARE OF YOU!
3. LIFE IS LIKE AN ATHLETIC EVENT
II Tim. 2:5 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. All athletic events have rules to follow.
ILL.- Rosie Ruiz is a Cuban American who on April 21, 1980 crossed the finish line before all other women runners in the 84th Boston Marathon and was initially credited as the first place female competitor, but was later stripped of her title when it was found that she had not run the entire course.
Ruiz appeared to win the Boston Marathon in 2:31:56. This seemed to be the fastest time ever recorded for a woman in the Boston Marathon’s history, as well as the third-fastest time ever recorded for a woman in any marathon. However, suspicions mounted about Ruiz almost from the beginning.
Men’s winner Bill Rodgers, who had just won his third straight Boston Marathon, noticed that Ruiz couldn’t seem to recall many things that most runners know by heart, such as intervals and splits. Other observers noticed that Ruiz wasn’t panting or coated in sweat that would be expected for a world-class runner. She later released stress-test results showing her resting heart rate as 76; most female marathoners have a resting heart rate in the 50s or lower.
In addition, her time of 2:31:56 was an unusual improvement, more than 25 minutes ahead of her reported time in the New York City Marathon six months earlier. When asked by a reporter why she didn’t seem fatigued after the grueling race, she said, "I got up with a lot of energy this morning." Yeah, sure!
Rosie Ruiz was a cheater. She did not compete according to the rules, consequently, the first place prize was taken from her. Likewise, when it comes to crown of life which the Lord gives, we will not be crowned unless we compete or live according to His rules. No human person can cheat in the game of life.
4- LIFE IS LIKE A HARD-WORKING MAN
II Tim. 2:6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. A hard-working farmer.
I don’t know much about that because I was raised as a city boy, or perhaps, a small town boy.
I was raised in town and not on a farm. However, in 1969 I moved to a small farming town in Iowa called Bayard. It’s about 65 miles northwest of Des Moines, IA. And that’s where I began to learn a little about farming and harder work than I was used to!
I had some grain and hog farmers in my church who offered to let me find out what it was all about. For several summers I helped them make hay. It was itchy, gritty, dirty clover hay. And those old square bales were quite heavy. Those farmers baled them somewhat green so they were heavy. I’ve forgotten how heavy (something like 80 lbs.) but they took about all the strength I could muster to throw them on those wagons in the field. Walking in the fields and throwing those bales of hay onto the wagon was harder than riding on the wagon and stacking them. But both jobs were hard for me and I got an education in the hay field.
I remember the dirt, the sweat, and the aching arms and aching back from working in the hay field all day long. We would be so dirty that we had to wash off outside in the horse trough before we go could inside and get a shower. I didn’t know what dirty was until I worked in the hay field! And I didn’t know what hard work was either! And I gained a great deal of respect for hard-working farmers!
II Tim. 2:6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
If a farmer works he should receive something good for his hard work. It’s the principle of reaping what you sow in life. If you sow good stuff, you’ll reap good stuff. But if you go around sowing bad stuff in life then watch out! You won’t want what is coming your way! You can’t sow bad stuff or be bad in life and expect good. It doesn’t work that way, so we must make it our aim in life to do good, to treat people good and then we’ll reap good.
Proverbs 11:17 “A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.”
Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
5. LIFE IS LIKE AN EVIL EMPIRE
II Tim. 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
ILL.- Pre-Easter week of this year I flew from Memphis to Richmond, VA, to visit my daughter, son-in-law and grandkids. I hadn’t seen them for a whole year. Hope will soon be 11 years old and Caleb turned 8 while I was there. And Hayden (the pill) turned 4 on May 2nd. While I was there Holly and Chris planned to go to Washington D. C. to visit two museums for Caleb’s 8th birthday. One museum was called the National Building Museum that featured Lego buildings. They were replicas of some of the most famous buildings in the world: the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center, the St. Louis Gateway Arch and the world’s tallest building in Dubai.
We also went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History which featured Egyptian mummies, bones of animals, etc. These museums were nice and I’m sure there was much more to see but we had only part of a day. What I did see was a million-jillion people in Washington D.C.! I thought the whole world was visiting D.C. that day. Well, it seemed like it!
I am told there are some places in D. C. where you wouldn’t want to go and especially, after dark. D.C. is not a nice place to be after dark because of all crime, corruption and sin. You would think, however, that since it’s our nation’s capital that it would be a good place to be! But that’s questionable!
In fact, on the plane ride home I sat beside a 20 year old man who told me he drove into D.C. one time to watch Washington Nationals ball game. He parked where he thought was safe but when he got out of the ball game his car was gone! It had been towed by the police to a compound. He said he had to flag down a police officer to find out what happened to his car. He said that where he was in D.C. was a bad place! And he said if he hadn’t had two big guys with him he would have been worried!
Brothers and sisters, there are places, people and things from which we must flee or run. We must run FROM evil and run TO faith and love in the Lord.
II Tim. 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
CONCLUSION----------------------
ILL.- Someone said that the first great rule in life is to put up with things; the second great rule is to refuse to put up with things; and the third—and hardest—great rule is to carefully distinguish between the first two. NO, NOT REALLY.
The first and second great rule in life is this: Matthew 6:33 “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness...and all these things shall be given you.”
Because life is rough and tough, we need to seek the Lord always. His way is always the best way to live. His way brings blessing, grace, peace, provision, protection, and many other promises.
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
